Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-01-06
oEMocRArlc PENslonina.

Il
T-:-e Liberality OF the Administration,
Coupled with Justice, to the Veterans
of the War.
The sound, practical views advanced
by President Cleveland in his message
on the subject of pensions disposes of
the misstatements and misrepresenta-
tions so literally INDUCED in last sum-
mer by Republican Senators and men,
bers of Congress and their home or
gans. He appeals for an open
system of pensioning, which will do
away with the pernicious political in
! fluences that now faint the noble ex-
preston of the Nations gratitude to-
wards its defenders. The custom of
resorting to Congress for 4 special
| pension act to override the decision of
the well-organized bureau designed for
the examination and consideration of
| all pension cases opens the door, as
the PredSldent states, to the allow ance
of questionable claims and presents
| fraudulent claims in such guise and so
surrounded by sentiment and patriotic
feeling that they are hard to resist In
his yetOeS of some of those claims.
last summer. the President pointed out
| in each instance tie baseleSs character
| OF the claim. 1t is idle to speak OF the
Nations ingratitude towards the web
Grams in view of the fact that il has
| paid out more in pensions for disability
sustained in service than all the rest of
the worlo has paid in centuries.
The law projecting the pensioner has
been SO carefully drawn that there can
be no fear of in Justice when the law Is
fully carried out
Under former Administrations OF
the Pension Bureau, especially in 1884,
shameless misuse of power and gross
| partisanship perverted LIE patriotic in
| tentions of the people. TO save votes
| for Mr.. Blaine the law WAS violate
| and deserving pensioners were injured.
By the political use of pensions 3 SOL
dler's right TO pension was made to
depend upon his service to the Repub-
lican party after the war and not
upon his services in the field for his
country. The boards of examining
surgeons and the special examiners
were all Republicans, selected with a
view to their willingness to misuse
their power for partisan purposes. The
Democratic Commissioner Of Pensions
has provided against this abuse by se-
Letting impartially from both parties.
The history of the Pension Bureau, I'M
| der Republican management, especial
ly in 1854, is IN unbroken record of
| partisan prostitution of the noblest of
orr public agencies, of danger to our
! free inst. tutlons, of robbery of the tax
payers, degradation of the pensiCner.
| insult to the Union veterans and d.s-
grace to the responsible party.
The relief of the disabled veteran is
not an act of charity, but of justice
and duty on the part of the Govern
ment The President advances the
sound argument that when the veter-
ans who, having served their country
long and well, are reduced to destiru.
| ton, not as an incident of their scrvs
ice, but with advancing age, or
| through sickness or misfortune, they
and their cause are entitled to the bene-
| fit of a special act in each case. Under
such an act relief may be claimed as
right and according to law,
not, as sometimes happens now, in
evasion of it. The veterans are our
fellow citizens. and are equally inter-
ested in the passage and faithful execu-
ton of wholesome laws. The charge
that the Democratic Administration
has been in any sense hostile to the
cause of pensioners is easily disproved
by the fact that more work has been
done during the past year by the Pen
sion Bureau, at less cost to the Govern
nent, than during any previous year
since the bureau was organized -
Albany argus.